ShareChat

ShareChat is an Indian social media platform built around vernacular-language content, launched in 2015 by Ankush Sachdeva, Bhanu Pratap Singh and Farid Ahsan under the company Mohalla Tech Private Limited, based in Bengaluru. Its core proposition is to serve first-time and non-English-speaking internet users in India with feeds of text posts, images, videos and short-form video in languages such as Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Marathi, Bengali, Kannada, Malayalam, Punjabi, Gujarati and others. Rather than competing head-on with English-first global networks, ShareChat positioned itself as a home-grown, mobile-first community platform for Bharat — India beyond the large English-speaking metros. The company expanded into short video with its app Moj, launched after the Indian ban on Chinese short-video apps in 2020 created a large vacuum in the market. ShareChat and Moj together became one of the largest Indian-owned social media ecosystems by user base, monetising primarily through advertising and creator tools. The company has raised substantial venture capital from investors including Twitter, Google, Temasek, Lightspeed, Elevation Capital, Alkeon Capital, HarbourVest and others, and at its peak was valued at several billion dollars, making it one of India's most prominent privately held consumer-internet companies. ShareChat's brand identity is closely tied to Indian-language internet users, regional creators and the idea of a domestic alternative to global social platforms. It has invested in creator programmes, regional content moderation in many languages, and advertising products aimed at brands wanting to reach smaller towns. Its ownership remains private, held by Mohalla Tech and its investors, and the platform operates only in India. The company has faced the same pressures as other ad-funded social platforms — monetisation challenges, competition from YouTube Shorts, Instagram Reels and other short-video products, and periodic layoffs and restructuring as it pursued a path to profitability.

ShareChat was founded in 2015 in Bengaluru by Ankush Sachdeva, Bhanu Pratap Singh and Farid Ahsan, operating under the company Mohalla Tech Private Limited. The founding insight was that most new Indian internet users were coming online in regional languages and were poorly served by English-centric social networks. ShareChat started as a platform for sharing text, images and videos in Indian languages, and grew rapidly in smaller cities and towns. Early funding came from Indian and global venture investors, including Lightspeed and Elevation Capital, and later rounds brought in major strategic investors. In 2020, Twitter invested in the company, and Google also became an investor in subsequent rounds. The company's valuation rose sharply during the short-video boom in India. A turning point came in 2020 when India banned a number of Chinese apps, including TikTok, creating a large gap in the short-video market. ShareChat launched Moj, its own short-video app, which quickly gained tens of millions of users and became one of the leading Indian alternatives. ShareChat and Moj together positioned the company as a major domestic social media group. The company continued to raise capital, with reports of funding rounds involving Temasek, Alkeon Capital and others, and at its peak was valued in the multi-billion-dollar range. It invested in creator programmes, regional content moderation and advertising products. Like other ad-funded social platforms, it faced monetisation challenges and competition from YouTube Shorts and Instagram Reels, and undertook restructuring and layoffs in pursuit of profitability. ShareChat remains privately held and India-focused.

• 2021

  Google becomes an investor in a funding round; valuation rises sharply amid India's short-video boom.

• 2020

  Twitter invests in ShareChat; company launches Moj short-video app after Indian ban on Chinese short-video apps.

• 2015

  ShareChat founded in Bengaluru by Ankush Sachdeva, Bhanu Pratap Singh and Farid Ahsan under Mohalla Tech.

Vernacular, India-first social media and short-video platform for non-English-speaking users.

• ShareChat

  Social media app with feeds of text, images and video in Indian languages.

• Moj

  Short-video app launched in 2020 as an Indian alternative to TikTok.

1. 1ShareChat official websitesharechat.com
2. 2Pratilipi's Double Tap Films launches ‘The Misfits’ on ShareChatafaqs.com
3. 3ShareChat acquires hyperlocal information platform Circle Internetthehindubusinessline.com
4. 4ShareChat acquires Kae Capital backed meme-sharing app Memerthehindubusinessline.com
5. 5ShareChat acquires Kae Capital-backed meme-sharing app Memer - The Economic Timeseconomictimes.indiatimes.com
6. 6ShareChat acquires meme-sharing app Memertimesnownews.com
7. 7ShareChat acquires Memer, looking for more buyoutsbusiness-standard.com
8. 8ShareChat acquires SAIF Partners-backed Circle Interneteconomictimes.indiatimes.com
9. 9ShareChat acquires SAIF Partners-backed Circle Internettelecom.economictimes.indiatimes.com
10. 10ShareChat acquires SAIF Partners-backed Circle Internet - Daily Excelsiordailyexcelsior.com
11. 11ShareChat Acquires Video Production Startup To Boost Content Operationsinc42.com
12. 12ShareChat appoints Akshat Sahu as director of marketingcampaignindia.in
13. 13ShareChat closes $40 million in pre-series E round of fundingthehindubusinessline.com
14. 14ShareChat launches Moj, a made in India TikTok rival and it’s off to a blazing startfinancialexpress.com
15. 15ShareChat partners with Audible Magic on copyright protectionarchive.siasat.com
16. 16ShareChat partners with Audible Magic to identify copyright content - The Economic Timeseconomictimes.indiatimes.com